Many Bridges, One River: Organizing for Justice in Vietnamese American Communities
Press: UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press
Editors: thuan nguyen and Vy Nguyen
Paperback: $15.00 ISBN-13: 978-0-934052-50-4
Product Details: Paperback, 170 pages, 7 x 10 x .5 in
Categories: Activism, Asian American, Asian American Studies, Civil Rights, Diaspora Studies, Ethnic Studies, Global/Transnational Connections, Human Rights, Immigration and Migration, Primary Sources, Vietnamese
Description
Many Bridges, One River: Organizing for Justice in Vietnamese American Communities
Edited by thuan nguyen and Vy Nguyen
with Foreword by Glenn Omatsu
a co-publication of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center Press & thuan nguyen and Vy Nguyen, 2017
Many Bridges, One River is the first published collection of interviews with organizers and activists who have been working in Vietnamese American communities throughout the United States, starting in the 1970s. Co-edited by Vy Nguyen and thuan nguyen, these interviews document the strategies and lessons learned in the fight for social justice and progressive social change by Vietnamese Americans.
Excerpts:
Vietnamese Americans activists are uniquely positioned to contribute insights to how social change can be reimagined today. On the one hand, their activism is rooted in one of the most significant national liberation movements in the late twentieth century. On the other hand, the activism of today's Vietnamese Americans is also rooted in the challenges facing Viet Nam following the defeat of the U.S. military and the reunification of the natiom[...] [Y]oung Vietnamese Americans are contributing insights to a new set of critical issues that activists globally are focusing on: sustainable activism and the avoidance of burnout, self-care and its relationship to care for others, the value of love as the basis for social change, and reimagining social change and activism as healing of both oneself and one's community.
- Glenn Omatsu
In reading these interviews, what shines through is the creativity, resilience, and heart of these organizers, and their love for community. As Viet organizers, they share openly about struggles with red-baiting, sexism, homophobia, intergenerational differences, language barriers, and burnout[...] Ultimately, we hope this collection of interviews sheds some light on the promise and the ongoing work of building a progressive/left Viet infrastructure in the United States, with an eye toward the broader project of social and economic transformation for all.
- thuan nguyen and Vy Nguyen
Table of Contents:
Foreword by Glenn Omatsu
Introduction
Acknowledgements
Editors' Note
Interviews
Ngo Thanh Nhan, Union of Vietnamese in the United States
Tho Do, Vietnamese Youth Development Center, San Francisco and UNITE HERE Local 2
James Bui, Boston, the Gulf Coast and Viet Nam
Sissy Nga Trinh, Southeast Asian Community Alliance
Gina Masequesmay, O-Moi
Julie Vo, Little Saigon, Orange County
Tony Nguyen, VietUnity
Mimi-Cristien Nguyen, Gulf Coast Organizing
Minh Nguyen, Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association - New Orleans
Leo Esclamado, Trinh Le, and Mark Tran, Gulf Coast Organizing
Daniel Nguyen, VEGGI Farmers' Cooperative
Nancy Dung Nguyen, Journey Home
Duyen Tran, California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative
TK Le, common ground oc
Thuy Trang Nguyen, Hai Ba Trung School for Organizing
Cat Bao Le, Southeast Asian Coalition
Hieu Nguyen, Viet Rainbow of Orange County
An Duong, Jennifer Ho, Vincent Huynh, Lisette Le, and Aaron Tanaka, Dorcester Organizing and Training Initiative
Appendix
Related Center Press Publications:
Asian Americans: The Movement and the Moment
Amerasia Journal 19:3 On Vietnamese, Khmer, Hmong, South Asian, Filipino, and Korean Writings: "The Asian American Subject"
Amerasia Journal 23:2 Returns and Representations
Amerasia Journal 25:1 Second Generation Asian Americans' Ethnic Identity
Amerasia Journal 29:1 Vietnamese Americans: Diaspora and Dimensions
Amerasia Journal 31:2 30 Years AfterWARd: Vietnamese Americans & U.S. Empire
Amerasia Journal 34:3 How Do Asian Americans Create Places?
Amerasia Journal 36:2 Asian Australia and Asian America: Making Transnational Connections
Amerasia Journal 36:3 GlobaLinks: Community Institutions and Practices Across Nations
